JUNIOR SCHOOL

JUNIOR

SCHOOL

STEAM Week

We teach with ambition and rigour to enable all pupils to achieve exceptional academic outcomes in a supportive environment in which they are valued as individuals and can develop their interests and talents to the full.

This year we developed a concept-based approach for Foundation Subjects which encourages in-depth learning about main ideas such as ‘Population Growth’ and ‘Leaders’ in a way that is aspirational and promotes intellectual curiosity.

A modern foreign language is now being taught to the First School girls as well as all the Lower School girls.

The librarian devised a Reading Map as a new resource for choosing books that further encourages wide reading. This is modelled closely on the London Underground, with Tube lines representing different genres and stations representing different books within each genre. It has helped to promote book talk and motivates young readers to read for pleasure.

We have been working towards the Gold History Association Quality Mark. This has prompted a number of initiatives including a new History Club, a ‘meanwhile elsewhere’ element to topics in the curriculum which broadens global understanding, a Historical Fiction Writing Competition and a new prominently placed History notice board to promote curiosity and provide topical information. We are also working with Aylward and our School Archives to prepare a Lottery Heritage Fund bid. This will disseminate knowledge about the School and the local area and provide wider community access to the fascinating materials in our archives.

Our STEAM focus week introduced the science of flying to the girls. All Lower School girls visited the RAF Museum, worked with expert visitors and subject specialists during a series of workshops about flight and the aviation industry. The girls worked in vertically grouped teams to design their own aerodynamic flying machines which were tested using a launcher in a grand finale. We also welcomed back four ONLs to talk to the Lower School girls about exciting careers in the STEAM industries. The First School girls took part in a Leonardo de Vinci-inspired workshop, learning about his works and inventions. A spectacular Wonderstruck rocket show ignited curiosity about the world of science and the week culminated with a Flight Mixer Day, in which girls collaborated to build parachutes, catapults and flying machines.

Wonderstruck Rocket Show

World Book Day First School

Dance Squad

Exhibition Saturday “Pupils’ ‘intellectual character’ is constantly stimulated …and risk-taking is genuinely encouraged”. The Good Schools Guide 2020

The Junior School Council organised a range of activities to raise money for this year’s Canonaid charities. These included a Science Quiz for Auditory Verbal UK, as well as Swahili Bingo Game for the Fursa Trust, who support children living in the slum areas of Nairobi. They also organised an ‘Environmental Day’ encouraging pupils to stay away from screens during lockdown and to appreciate the environment around them. Kindness initiatives included ‘Friendship Fridays’, baking, writing cards and making gifts for residents of local care homes and donating books to a local charity that aims for every child in London to have a personal book collection.

Although opportunities to enter external competitions were not as accessible this year, some highlights included:

The Herts Maths Challenge - our 2 teams came 5th and 9th out of 21 teams. 95 girls entered the Primary Maths Challenge with 2 girls achieving full marks and 16 going through to the Bonus Round.

The Primary Maths Challenge Bonus Round - 6 girls were awarded gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze.

Year 3 and 4 girls sat the First Challenge remotely - 62 girls achieved gold, 10 of which were full marks, 26 silvers and 8 bronze awards.

The Junior School Chess Team were successful in the first round of the English Primary Schools’

Chess Association’s national competition, and also competed in the semi-final stage of the ECF

Girls’ National Chess Championships.

The Junior Cross-Country Years 5 and 6 teams dominated the Harrow AC challenge, winning both age groups. Canons Choir Music for Youth Our Junior School Canons Choir, performed at The Royal Albert Hall as part of the annual Music for Youth Proms and competed in the prestigious 10th annual Barnardo’s National Choral Competition at the Royal Festival Hall after being selected from hundreds of choirs. NLCS Young Singers after school club joined 8,240 children and sang at the largest school concert in the world - Young Voices at the O2 Arena. During the Summer Term girls continued NLCS Young Singers at the O2their enthusiastic music making by creating a Virtual Summer Concert. More than 300 beautiful singing and instrumental videos were received and compiled into two wonderful musical videos: “There is a power in the music” and “Music Celebrations”. ➤ WATCH OUR VIDEO HERE Year 3 performed ‘The Growing Project’, a play encompassing two important elements of Junior School life: the power of stories to transform and the Learning Habits. Year 4 presented a beautiful and touching version of ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ on the Performing Arts Centre stage. The First School girls delighted audiences with their performance of a specially written musical play ‘The Land of Oz’ and the Lower School girls performed in the Christmas concert on the theme of ‘Celebrations’. The Year 6 production took the form of a series of monologues, written by the girls themselves, based on the theme of ‘Other Worlds’. This production, ‘Year 6 in Wonderland’, was filmed both at home and in the Performing Arts Centre and showcased some lovely performances at the end of the girls’ Junior School careers.

➤ WATCH OUR VIDEO HERE

After School Clubs continue to be very popular and new clubs introduced this year include Have Your Say, Mindfulness and Me, Eco Club, and Mission: Explore. We are delighted that our newly formed Dance Squad were selected to compete in the Primary National Final of the “Great British

Dance Off”. Our Debating team joined in events with other schools to practise and hone their skills.

The Velveteen Rabbit

Year 5 Team Building Workshop

The look and feel of the Learning Habit characters have been revamped to ensure that girls readily identify and develop intellectual character as part of a holistic view to their education. The same characters grow up and evolve as the girls move up from the First to the Lower School. Each of the characters now includes a special object to reinforce the idea of the character trait. Following the submission of hundreds of student designs to a professional illustrator, the new characters were launched and have been displayed around the Junior School. The consistent use of these characters in PSHE, in academic work and in activities reinforces the importance of developing intellectual character from a young age.

The Junior School quiet courtyard redevelopment is now nearing completion. In the Autumn, the library was transformed into a Music Room, providing girls with a specialist space for music lessons, a rehearsal space for chamber music groups, ensembles and choirs.

In September 2019 we took possession of a new and enlarged Science Room which provides space for girls to carry out practical investigations and experiments using a wide range of equipment and resources.The opening of the new Learning Hub within the courtyard space has been delayed due to the pandemic, but we are looking forward to taking possession of the double volume library and the two IT spaces, one upstairs for the youngest girls and one downstairs. These will put reading and research philosophically and physically at the heart of the Junior School.